Westover’s Kyson Mallard commits to Louisville Cardinals

ALBANY — Westover offensive lineman Kyson Mallard kept everyone guessing until the very end.

With family, teammates, coaches and classmates gathered Tuesday to watch one of Southwest Georgia’s most highly recruited football players make his college decision, the 6-foot-7, 325-pound lineman methodically worked through the suspense.

Three shirts sat on the table in front of him — Louisville, Georgia Tech and Pitt.

After thanking his coaches, parents, family members and teammates, Mallard stood and picked up the Georgia Tech shirt. He held it briefly before dropping it back onto the table.

Next came Pitt.

Again, he dropped the shirt as the crowd reacted.

Then he picked up the Louisville shirt.

Moments later, he dropped that one, too.

As the room erupted in confusion, Mallard turned around, opened his jacket and revealed the Louisville shirt he had been wearing all along.

Decision made.

The three-star recruit announced he will continue his football career with the Louisville Cardinals, choosing the ACC program over 22 other scholarship offers.

“It felt like home to me,” Mallard said. “It just felt right.”

For Mallard, the moment represented the culmination of a recruiting journey that began years ago.

Rated as the No. 47 interior offensive lineman in the nation, Mallard has been attracting college attention since his freshman season at Westover. His combination of size, strength and athleticism quickly made him one of the state’s top prospects, and before the start of his junior year he verbally committed to Georgia.

Then adversity struck.

Mallard suffered a major ACL injury and was limited to just one game during his junior season, temporarily putting his football future on hold.

Rather than allowing the injury to define him, Mallard focused on rehabilitation and recovery.

Now, with his college decision behind him, he has his sights set on returning to full strength for his senior season.

He said Tuesday he continues to work through the final stages of recovery and expects to be cleared for full activity in July as the Patriots prepare for the upcoming season.

Westover coach Corey Joyner said Mallard’s success is the result of years of hard work both on the field and in the classroom.

“Kyson put himself in this position,” Joyner said. “He works hard every day when he is on the field and he works hard in his academics. He had lots of options as one of the top offensive linemen in the country.”

Joyner also pointed to a familiar local connection that helped make Louisville an attractive destination.

The Cardinals’ wide receivers coach is former Monroe High School standout Deion Branch, one of Albany’s most accomplished football products.

Branch starred at Louisville before enjoying a successful NFL career that included a Super Bowl MVP performance for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. He caught 11 passes for 133 yards in the Patriots’ victory and later spent time with the Seattle Seahawks before returning to New England.

The presence of a coach with deep Albany roots only strengthened Louisville’s appeal.

Now Mallard hopes to follow a similar path, beginning with one final season at Westover before heading to the ACC.

Before Tuesday’s ceremony concluded, Westover principal William Chunn offered congratulations and a challenge.

“A job well done,” Chunn said.

Then he looked toward the season ahead.

“I am so proud of Kyson. I expect him to lead these Westover Patriots this year.”

After spending much of the last year battling back from injury, Mallard now has two goals in front of him — leading Westover this fall and eventually protecting quarterbacks on Saturdays at Louisville.

Tuesday’s announcement marked an important step toward both.

Kyson is the son of Kayla and Bennie Mallard of Albany.